Engineering Taste in Careers- “Procrastibaker”

Over a glass of fruity white wine and a mouth-watering starter in ‘The French Paradox’ in Dublin, the waitress told me the story of her career – so far. This 21-year-old effervescent waitress bowled me over with her zest for life.

Aoife’s career path got off to a wobbly start as she got her third choice in CAO, Engineering in Trinity. Her first and second choices were Psychology. After a few months of feeling no desire for Engineering she dropped out of college. She had to examine her heart’s desire. Upon examination, Aoife realised that she had fallen deliriously in love. She was consumed by her love morning, noon and night. The sight, sense and taste of her love filled her up. Aoife had fallen in love with…..food. She dropped out of Trinity and headed off to Florence to study in a Cordon Bleu cookery school and study Italian.

Aoife bubbled over like champagne as she spoke about her passion for food. She recounted the smell of the basil and tomatoes that wafted through the air of the Italian kitchen. Her passion carried her through the language barrier to make pasta, pizza, sushi and so on. Her time in Florence was the beginning of an intense love affair.

Upon her return to Ireland, this love affair revealed itself in baking. Aoife took a leap and created her own brand ‘Sweet Inspirations’. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up Trinity and Engineering for the seduction of food.

Apparently, her laptop contains 100,000 images of food, such is her addiction!

Aoife’s favourite quote was by Julia Child “people who love to eat are always the best people”. As a Foodie, I really appreciated this quote. Aoife moved on to say that her current interest is in healthy eating and in the Paleo diet. Her recent creation of chocolate brownies was featured on the Facebook account of the Paleo recipe world, which, has 63,000 viewers. These brownies have elevated her status in the food blogger kingdom and prompted a great reaction. This positive feedback has given her great joy.

In the future, Aoife hopes to create her own brand and products based on the Paleo principle of no wheat, sugar or dairy. For now, she has to deal with the challenges of applying herself to her daily studies in Italian and Psychology in UCD. Avoidance of studies and getting distracted by food has earned her the nickname, “The Procastibaker”. If Aoife is not baking she in on Facebook, Food blogs, Instragram and Pinterest. Her waking and sleeping thoughts still centre on engineering great taste!

We ended this conversation about the consuming nature of the love of her life by brainstorming ways that she could marry Psychology, Italian and Food together into a meaningful career. Joining the dots going forward between her degree and her future is the key to unlocking her motivation to get out of the kitchen and into the lecture halls!

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9 comments

Deirdre McColganMarch 3, 2014

Excellent Dearbhla, talk about an eclectic mix being combined for a career path full of passion and joy.

dearbhlaMarch 3, 2014

Thank you Deirdre.

Marian ByrneMarch 3, 2014

What a fantastic story and brilliantly told!
It is a great example of how ‘things happen for a reason’…Aoife is still pursuing psychology but had she got her first or second choice at college would not have discovered her other love and passion.
I have no doubt but the conversation with Dearbhla has helped her join some dots and be inspired to move forward. Her story is certainly inspiring for others.
Thank you Dearbhla for taking the time to connect with her and sharing her story with us.

Marian

dearbhlaMarch 3, 2014

Marian, Yes I think it is a great example of how ” things happen for a reason”.! Sometimes, the road less travelled has great offerings! Thank you, Dearbhla

Dearbhla, thank you for portraying the story of the last couple of years in my life so vibrantly. I am now more excited about my future than ever and I feel so grateful and lucky to have met you.
You really did help me clear my head and focus all of my ideas into a vision for the future. I will most definitely be keeping in touch and will let you know how my progress is going.
As for now, I am making a big effort with my studies and trying to avoid social media throughout the day (as though as it is)!

All the best,
Aoife

dearbhlaMarch 3, 2014

Thanks Aoife for being a total inspiration. It is hard to believe that you are only 21. I look forward to seeing your career flourish!

chelley marleyMarch 3, 2014

Good choices and a willingness to think outside the box. Well done Aoife and Dearbhla.

It’s so good to hear about people combining the need to work with sheer joy and passion – such an ideal combination! Hats off to Aoife to finding her way and Dearbhla to helping her! You are both such an inspiration!

JosephineMarch 6, 2014

Dearbhla good for you to capture Aoife story so beautifully. This is a great story that confirms the importance of following your passion and bliss. We know this involves taking risks. Good for Aoife to have the courage to do so. The words of Emily Dickinson come to mind
“We never know how high we are
Till we are asked to rise
And then if we are true to plan
Our statures touches the skies”.